First Western Trust Bank Sells 813 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

First Western Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 813 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $6,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 96,738.6% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 649,839,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,615,469,000 after buying an additional 649,168,383 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,009,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,070,000 after buying an additional 1,167,553 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,237,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,044,492,000 after buying an additional 172,821 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,129,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,189,000 after buying an additional 77,961 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,739,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,514,000 after buying an additional 224,451 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.93, for a total transaction of $272,866.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,421,020.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 1,796 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.93, for a total value of $272,866.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,421,020.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 12,661 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total transaction of $1,933,967.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,523,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $2.64 on Monday, reaching $121.17. 905,932 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,223,033. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $283.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.83. The company has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 173.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $200.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, September 15th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $224.00 to $118.00 in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.48.

Estée Lauder Companies Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.